I was on the Superchain Grants team last season and I noticed that there are quite a few chains that were given grants last season that are no longer cosidered part of the superchain according to the superchain registry: Superchain Index | Superchain Eco
I’m wondering what the criteria is for a chain to be considered part of the superchain in general and what is the criteria that makes each chain eligible for a grant. Regarding the grants from last season, this seems like a waste of governance funding since these chains aren’t considered part of the superchain at all anymore. How were they eligible last season and not now? Have we changed the requirements?
Some of these have been added to the Index since this was first discussed. While this is good for those chains, it also highlights the fluid nature of membership at this time, and we agree with Katie that more clarity on requirements would be helpful
I’m glad to see you bring up this topic! I led the Index product with Superchain Eco and can share some perspective here. However, I’ll refer to the Optimism Partnerships team to validate the information and provide a clear framework.
Did the requirements evolve? Yes, the definitions in the Superchain are constantly changing through Governance, and the parameters have evolved over the past months. The latest (upcoming) framework is the Superchain Registry 2,0 and the latest Standard Rollup Charter.
What are the criteria for chain eligibility for a grant?Optimism announced it here - in short, any Green or Yellow chain is eligible for rewards. Green = Adheres to the latest Standard Rollup Charter + Bridge upgradability managed by Optimism Security Council. Yellow = Following Standard Rollup Charter and working to transition Bridge upgradability to Optimism Security Council.
Are these OP well spent? In my personal view, all Grey chains should be motivated to become Yellow and Green over time. I hope these chains will make progress toward further Superchain-alignment this Season, however I don’t think it’s an option (or good strategy) to try to get (a share) of their grant back.
We’ve been putting in a lot of effort over the past couple of quarters to improve clarity on how different chains are classified within the ecosystem. Blockspace Charters and the Superchain Registry (which Superchain Index is effectively a frontend for) have been the primary efforts there. We use the term Superchain Ecosystem to refer to all chains using the OP Stack, and the Superchain is the subset of those chains which fully (or are on track to fully) meet the standards criteria in the Standard Rollup Charter (green + orange.)
The Superchain Registry is hosted by the Optimism Foundation and represents a view into both of these groupings. The Charter column in the Superchain Index reflects which of these chains meet the SRC criteria, as determined by Optimism Governance via Protocol Upgrades. As you can see, that corresponds to the set of Chains that are eligible for incentives in Season 7. As this Season’s Intent focuses on interoperability, which requires that chains be on the Standard Charter, we have narrowed eligibility requirements in line with the Collective Intent. The Foundation also supports other nonstandard OP Chains, at its discretion, to promote innovation on the OP Stack beyond what Optimism Governance can support. There may be some chains missing as this is a relatively new repo, but the goal is for the Superchain Index/Registry to be as inclusive as possible while maintaining clear delineation between Standard and non-standard chains. Both the Superchain and broader Superchain Ecosystem are important for us to serve and grow.
In terms of the eligibility criteria changing over time, this is natural as our strategy is continuously evolving as we respond to evolving customer needs. Governance needs to remain adaptive and able to evolve along with these business needs and we don’t believe teams that have received past grants should be penalized for that. Importantly, all the chains in the Index - gray, orange, and green - are contributing revenue to the Collective, so as any of these chains grow, the entire Collective benefits.